1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a soap bar holding and dispensing device.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is a well known fact that the useful life of a bar of soap is adversely affected by exposure to streams or puddles of water. Water that impacts the surface of the bar of soap or builds up underneath the bar of soap accelerates the dissolution of the soap. In order to address the problem, there have been many attempts to create shelves or soap boxes to eliminate the waste created by unnecessary exposure of the bar of soap to water. It is quite common for shower stalls to have a recessed shelf with a ribbed surface. The recessed shelf takes the bar of soap out of the line of direct impact with water from the shower, and the ribbed surface prevents the bar of soap from sitting in a pool of water which causes an acceleration of the decay of the soap bar. These recessed and ribbed surfaces prevent a lot of the decay associated with unnecessary contacts of the soap with water. However, water can still impact the bar of soap after being reflected from other surfaces in the shower stall or from the person using the shower stall. Also, the ribbed surface inevitably accumulates soap residue which must be cleared away by scrubbing.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,435,030 describes a wall mounted holder in which the soap may be slipped into the dispenser from the bottom thereof, and maintained in position by a pivotal support member which swings on a pivot point 35 and catches and holds the soap bar when placed therein with the foot 36. The soap bar can be automatically dispensed by pushing lever 40.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,630,794 describes a wall mounted soap dispenser in which the soap bar is loaded from the top into a pivoting enclosure. The pivoting enclosure positions the soap on a holding shelf and shelters the soap. In order to dispense the soap, the user pushes the pivoting enclosure which pivots and allows the soap to pass through an exit opening.